The “Crusaders” knew they wanted to kill Muslims — and with luck, use the “bloodbath” to ignite a religious war — but for months they couldn’t settle on a plan.

The easiest way would be to grab guns, go to the predominantly Somali-Muslim apartment complex they’d been surveilling and start kicking in doors, court documents said. They would spare no one, not even babies.

In the end, they decided to set off bombs similar to the one Timothy McVeigh used in 1995 to kill 168 people in Oklahoma City. They planned to strike after the Nov. 8 election, investigators said ...

Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, both 49, and of Liberal, Kansas, and Patrick Eugene Stein, 47, of Wright, Kansas, appeared in federal court to face a charge of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives), in connection with their plot to detonate bombs at an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas where Somali immigrants live and worship.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall of the District of Kansas.

“According to the complaint, these three defendants conspired to conduct a bombing attack against an apartment complex occupied by men, women and children in the Garden City, Kansas community,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Protecting our nation from such attacks, whether they are rooted in domestic or international terrorism, is our highest priority.”

“These charges are based on eight months of investigation by the FBI that is alleged to have taken the investigators deep into a hidden culture of hatred and violence,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Beall. “Many Kansans may find it as startling as I do that such things could happen here.”

The complaint alleges that since February the FBI has been investigating the defendants’ activities, including their plans to carry out a violent attack against Muslims in southwestern Kansas. The defendants were key members of a militia group that referred to itself as the Crusaders. A confidential source attended meetings of the group and provided the FBI with information about the defendants’ activities.

The criminal complaint alleges that the men conducted surveillance to identify potential targets, stockpiled firearms, ammunition and explosive components, and planned to issue a manifesto in conjunction with the planned bombing. The attack, the defendants said, would be intended to “wake people up.”

After considering possible targets, the defendants decided to conduct the attack on a Garden City, Kansas apartment complex that houses a mosque and a large number of members of the Somali community. They discussed obtaining four vehicles, filling them with explosives and parking them at the four corners of the apartment complex to create a large explosion.

On Oct.12, Stein met with an undercover FBI employee in rural Finney County, Kansas. After examining and test firing automatic weapons, Stein took the source to see the apartment building that the defendants were targeting in Garden City, Kansas. Stein said he would provide ammonium nitrate for the bomb and contribute $200 to $300 for other materials.

Stein also talked with the undercover employee about defendant Allen’s arrest in a domestic violence case in Liberal, Kansas the previous day, Oct. 11. Stein said he was concerned that Allen’s girlfriend would give the Liberal Police Department in Kansas information about the defendants’ plans.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes. If convicted of any offense, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Investigating agencies included the FBI, the Liberal Police Department, the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Garden City Police Department, the Dodge City Police Department, the Finney County Sheriff’s Office, and Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi for the District of Kansas and Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorney David Cora are prosecuting this case.

- OP edit to broaden the title category a bit -

« Last Edit: October 21, 2016, 16:29:18 by milnews.ca »

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“The risk of insult is the price of clarity.” -- Roy H. Williams

The words I share here are my own, not those of anyone else or anybody I may be affiliated with.

So we have one discussion for Muslim religious terrorism, and one for all other known religions. Anyone want to take bets which one will have the shorter list of outrages?

To be fair to the Muslims, they only got started in earnest about a couple of hundred years ago, so have quite a bit of ground to make up, especially to catch up with characters like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

« Last Edit: October 18, 2016, 16:56:41 by daftandbarmy »

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"The most important qualification of a soldier is fortitude under fatigue and privation. Courage is only second; hardship, poverty and want are the best school for a soldier." Napoleon

Well the nastiest non-Islamic group would be the Lords Resistance Army, their leader claimed a religious connection, but I think he is/was just outright bonkers and don’t recall them every really claiming any religious motivation.

Well the nastiest non-Islamic group would be the Lords Resistance Army, their leader claimed a religious connection, but I think he is/was just outright bonkers and don’t recall them every really claiming any religious motivation.

Well considering Christian extremists still consider witch burning a thing... I am not so sure. Africa has quite a bit of 'Christian Extremists' but they are called 'militia's'

It seems that the FBI didn't do the takedown in the typical manner as they have with Islamic radicals in the US. In the majority of those cases they have used undercover operatives to act as fellow supporters and provided access to "explosives" and materials to make a bomb, then carefully lead them down the path. In many of those cases, the defendants would not have had the means or ability to get the plot any further without the help of the FBI. One or two cases have been thrown out because of that.

But with this one, the people were fully capable, and had progressed to the point of getting ready to move on their plans. That makes this a very worrisome case indeed.

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It's hard to win an argument against a smart person, it's damned near impossible against a stupid person.

There is no God, and life is just a myth.

"He who drinks, sleeps. He who sleeps, does not sin. He who does not sin, is holy. Therefore he who drinks, is holy."

What started as a political movement against the corrupt and autocratic Bozizé is now taking on an ominously religious character. Nearly all the Seleka are Muslim, including mercenaries from neighbouring Chad and the notorious Janjaweed from Sudan's Darfur region. An "us and them" mentality of mutual distrust and paranoia is taking root, with some Christians taking up arms in vigilante militias known as "anti-balaka" — meaning anti-sword or anti-machete — and committing atrocities of their own, giving the Seleka a pretext for yet more aggression. The spiral of violence has become a recruiting sergeant for thousands of child soldiers.

... with some Christians taking up arms in vigilante militias known as "anti-balaka" — meaning anti-sword or anti-machete — and committing atrocities of their own, giving the Seleka a pretext for yet more aggression.

I wonder if they see the irony in this.

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It's hard to win an argument against a smart person, it's damned near impossible against a stupid person.

There is no God, and life is just a myth.

"He who drinks, sleeps. He who sleeps, does not sin. He who does not sin, is holy. Therefore he who drinks, is holy."

Missouri Man Who Set Fire to Mosque and Who Attempted Arson at Planned Parenthood Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison

Jedediah Stout, 32, of Joplin, Missouri, was sentenced today in the Western District of Missouri to 63 months in prison for setting fire to the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque as well as for two attempted arsons of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Joplin, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson of the Western District of Missouri.

Stout pleaded guilty on April 18, 2016, to a four-count information that charged him with one count of damage to the Islamic Society of Joplin mosque, two counts of arson at a Planned Parenthood facility in Joplin and one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Stout was also ordered to pay $701,971 in restitution.

Stout, who told investigators that he did not like Islam as a religion, admitted in his guilty plea to setting a fire that destroyed the mosque on Aug. 6, 2012. The mosque served families from neighboring states, many of whom provided funding for the operation of the mosque. As a direct result of the fire, many donations made during the Muslim holy period of Ramadan were destroyed.

In his guilty plea, Stout also admitted to two arson attempts on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, 2013, against the Planned Parenthood of Joplin. In both attempts, Stout threw items containing an accelerant onto the roof of the Planned Parenthood facility and then ignited material attached to the accelerant. Surveillance video captured his consecutive attempts to set the fires and Stout was apprehended soon after those attempts. Stout admitted to investigators that he was responsible for both Planned Parenthood arson attempts and for the mosque arson, and that he had committed the mosque arson using the same kind of incendiary device as in the Planned Parenthood arson attempts. Stout further admitted that he targeted Planned Parenthood because they provide reproductive health care services ...

So, playing the Devil's Advocate, if we treat this the same way as other extremist violence with links/hints of religious involvement, one has to wonder what his influences were - especially since hometown media say he identifies as "conservative Christian". Did he own any religious literature? Who was he hanging around with? Did his church do anything about this if they knew? Have anti-Muslim or anti-abortion groups spoken out against such violence? Or is this just a case of someone mentally ill?

« Last Edit: October 21, 2016, 16:38:58 by milnews.ca »

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“The risk of insult is the price of clarity.” -- Roy H. Williams

The words I share here are my own, not those of anyone else or anybody I may be affiliated with.

A British neo-Nazi movement is to become the first far-right group to be banned under terrorism laws in the UK.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said National Action was "a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation".

An order laid in Parliament to proscribe the group - making it a criminal offence to join or support it - is due to come into effect on Friday.

It will be the first time a group engaged in extreme right-wing activities has been proscribed.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the home secretary can proscribe an organisation if it is believed to be "concerned in terrorism".

The growing problem of far-right radicalisation

National Action describes itself as a "National Socialist youth organisation" and says its movement is aimed at the "broken right-wing".

Ms Rudd said the group had "no place" in Britain.

She said: "National Action is a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation which stirs up hatred, glorifies violence and promotes a vile ideology, and I will not stand for it."

Proscription makes it a criminal offence to belong to the organisation, arrange meetings in support of the group or wear clothing or carry articles in public which arouse reasonable suspicion.

Penalties for proscription offences can be a maximum of 10 years in prison and an unlimited fine.

There are currently 70 international organisations that are proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 - the majority of which are Islamist groups. A further 14 organisations in Northern Ireland were proscribed under previous legislation ...

The federal jury1 of 10 women and two men who found Dylann Roof guilty of federal hate crimes Thursday in the killings of nine African-Americans at a historic Charleston church now must wait more than two weeks for the trial’s next phase.

Jurors on Jan. 3 will begin to hear evidence about whether to give the death penalty or life without parole to the 22-year-old self-avowed white supremacist from Columbia.

Jurors took two hours Thursday to find him guilty. Evidence in the case had been overwhelming, including a video confession.

Federal Judge Richard Gergel told jurors that during the holiday recess, they may not look at any news accounts of one of the most sensational South Carolina trials in decades. Nor can they discuss the case with anyone — including other jurors.

The killings shook South Carolina and the nation because they happened in a church, because Roof’s white supremacist motivations were so blatant and because survivors were so quick to express forgiveness.

“These nine people exemplified a goodness that was greater than this message of hate,” prosecutor Nathan Williams told jurors earlier in closing arguments, urging them to find Roof guilty.

After the verdict, Gergel put Roof under oath and asked him one more time if he wants to represent himself in the death penalty phase. Roof said “yes.” His legal team of top defense lawyers will be classified as “stand-by” and be able only to offer him advice.

Gergel warned Roof, a ninth-grade dropout with a GED, that he should not try to handle such a task. But Roof was firm. Gergel told him he had until Jan. 3 to change his mind ...

A self-proclaimed white supremacist convicted on charges he planned to use a “death ray” to kill Muslims and Barack Obama was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in prison, federal prosecutors in New York said.

Glendon Scott Crawford, 52, a Navy veteran and a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was found guilty in August 2015 of conspiring with another man to build a radiation dispersal device, dubbed a “death ray” by tabloids.

Crawford is the first person to be convicted under a law barring attempts to acquire or use a radiological dispersal device, which combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. Congress passed the statute in 2004 to punish individuals who try to set off a so-called “dirty bomb.”

US district judge Gary Sharpe imposed the sentence at a hearing in Albany, prosecutors said in a statement. He was convicted on three counts, including conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Crawford, who is from upstate New York, plans to appeal the conviction as well as his sentence, his attorney Danielle Neroni said in a statement. His lawyers argued unsuccessfully at trial that he was entrapped by the government.

Crawford’s co-conspirator, Eric Feight, pleaded guilty in connection with the case and was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison.*

US prosecutors had sought life in prison for Crawford. He faced a mandatory minimum of 25 years. After his release, he will be supervised for life.

“His plot to murder people he did not know was designed to, in his oft-repeated words, ‘take his country back’ from government leaders by forcing them to change government conduct he perceived as favoring Muslims,” prosecutors wrote in a pre-sentencing court filing ...

Eric J. Feight, 55, of Hudson, New York, was sentenced today to serve 97 months in prison for providing material support to terrorists.

The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Richard S. Hartunian of the Northern District of New York, and Special Agent in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Albany, New York, Division.

Feight pleaded guilty on January 22, 2014, and admitted to helping Glendon Scott Crawford modify an industrial-grade radiation device intended to be used to kill Muslims in the Albany area. Feight also admitted he assisted Crawford by designing and building a remote initiation unit to allow the radiation device to be activated from a distance. Both men were arrested following an extensive federal investigation. Crawford, a self-proclaimed Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member, sought financial support for his plot from the KKK, and he and Feight later met with individuals they believed to be KKK financiers to advance their scheme to kill innocent Americans. Those individuals were actually FBI agents posing as businessmen connected to the KKK who were willing to support the scheme.

“Eric Feight aided Glendon Scott Crawford in altering a dispersal device to target unsuspecting Muslim Americans with lethal doses of radiation,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “Feight and Crawford’s abominable plot to harm innocent Americans was thwarted thanks to the tireless efforts of law enforcement. The National Security Division’s highest priority continues to be combatting terrorism, and we remain ready to identify, disrupt and prevent terrorist threats, both domestically and internationally.”

“The sentence today highlights both the dangers we face when hatred and bigotry beget domestic terrorism and violent extremism, and our commitment to holding those who commit such crimes accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Hartunian. “No American—of any background—should have to live in fear of this kind of attack. This case illustrates the importance of vigilance by community members and an immediate, comprehensive investigation by our Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, which thwarted the diabolical plan Feight supported. We must continue to counter messages of hate by empowering communities and emphasizing the inclusion on which our nation was founded—with local, state and federal law enforcement ready to stop any who refuse to heed that call.”

“Today’s sentencing is the result of the incredible efforts of our Joint Terrorism Task Force and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Special Agent in Charge Vale. “While we enjoy today’s success, it is important that we continue to gain the strongest possible understanding to allow us to better assess the terrorism threat and identify those who would go beyond hateful rhetoric and extremist views to commit violent, criminal acts.”

This case was investigated by the Albany FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen C. Green and Richard Belliss of the Northern District of New York, and Trial Attorney Joseph Kaster of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

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“The risk of insult is the price of clarity.” -- Roy H. Williams

The words I share here are my own, not those of anyone else or anybody I may be affiliated with.